The Voice On Tour

Didn't get enough of The Voice? Wanting to cheer for your favorite live and in person? Maybe get a chance to get an autograph, or tell one or more how much they meant to you? You might just get that chance, as the producers of The Voice have announced a tour of the Top 8 contestants. So far, I think there are six stops scheduled.

July 27th - Gibson Amphitheatre (Los Angeles, CA)
July 30th - MGM Grand Garden Arena (Las Vegas, NV)
Aug 2nd - Rosemont Theatre (Chicago, IL)
Aug 4th - Bank of America Pavilion (Boston, MA)
Aug 5th - Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre (Wallingford, CT)
Aug 6th - Beacon Theatre (New York, NY)

So far, all the reports have been clear that the coaches will not be part of the tour. You can get tickets for the show nearest you by clicking here.

And the First Voice of America Is...

Well, tonight is the night. The culmination of performances that started with Coaches Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green making blind choices for their teams.

Vicci Martinez is one of the first of the contestants to sing with one of their musical favorites. She performs with Pat Monahan of the band Train, singing Drops of Jupiter.



Not sure it was a great song for Vicci, but they sing it nonetheless. However, Monahan was quite generous with the song, sharing it completely with Vicci. Seems Pat and Train are touring with Adam and Maroon 5 this summer. Cee Lo speaks to his charge, and gives a poignant testimony to his love and appreciation for her talent. That was just lovely. Well done, Cee Lo.

After the break, it is Javier's turn in the spotlight. He duets with legendary singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks. They perform Landslide, a song written and performed by Stevie while still a member of Fleetwood Mac.



There was a rough beginning, but soon Stevie had it under control, and you could see her orchestrating the entire performance. Javier was there to sing harmony, and support the star, that much was clear.

After a break, Beverly is going to sing with award-winning songwriter and frontman for OneRepbulic, Ryan Tedder. They sing the latest single from OneRepublic, Good Life.



That was an interesting pairing, sometimes shining, and other times the EMT were preparing. I'd have to say, I think Beverly is better than what that just showed. After the performance, Christina not only thanks Beverly, but also the boys up there, saying they were like the big brothers she never had. That was a sweet yet odd moment.

The final contestant to take to the stage is Dia. She will be performing with Blake's wife, Country superstar Miranda Lambert. They perform Lambert's The House That Built Me, a seriously beautiful song.



That is a lovely duet, and Lambert certainly shared it beautifully with young Dia. That is a strong moment, my favorite of the show so far. Blake is a bit choked up, having seen his wife and his student owning the stage and the moment.

After the break, we return to name the champion. We hear the top two are within two percent of one another. The top two are Dia Frampton and Javier Colon. Cee Lo and Christina are up on stage to escort Vicci and Beverly off. The scored well on iTunes, with Dia Frampton making it to #1, and Javier to #2. And the winner of the inaugural season of The Voice is... Javier Colon. Congratulations to all involved.

The Voice Finalists Perform

Clockwise: Vicci Martinez, Dia Frampton, Beverly McClellan and Javier Colon.

This is the final competition show, with the finalists taking the stage to sing for the win. But first, coaches Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Dee Lo Green and Blake Shelton take to the stage and sing Queen's amazing song Under Pressure.



Wow, that was kinda train-wrecky. Soon the finalists are being introduced by Carson, and he speaks to Dia, Beverly, Vicci and Javier. We discover they will be singing a duet with their coach, and an original song. Carson chats with Adam, Cee Lo, Christina, and Blake, who is looking a bit teary.

Javier is up first with the original song after the break. But first, we hear the Top 8 artists are going on tour this summer, so Nakia, Frenchie, Xenia and Casey will be joining the finalists. Check out the dates here. But Javier is there to perform the original song, Stitch By Stitch. The performance is dedicated to his wife and kids, but sounds to me a bit like something Bonnie Raitt rejected 20 years ago. It was pleasant enough, for adult contemporary radio. The coaches are all rather pleasant, with Blake and Adam both feeling the straight guy love for a man with a family. I'm a little lost by it, but hey, whatever... To vote for Javier, dial (855) 864-2301.

Dia and Blake are the first duo to take to the stage. They are going to deliver Tom Petty's Won't Back Down. Dia and Blake are in suits, like mini Blues Brothers. Both are playing their guitars. All the guys in the band are sporting sunglasses, yet Dia is not.



Representing Team Cee Lo, Vicci Martinez is up first, and performs Afraid To Sleep. I like the idea of the song, but ht eactual work is a bit too Bonnie-Tyler-meets-Jim-Steinman for me. But she sings the heck out of it, giving it a few soft moments, as well as the power only she can deliver. It was a bit over-wrought, a bit too late 80s for me. To vote for Vicci, dial (855) 864-2302.

Well, after the break, we learn that the next performance will be Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo to sing their hit, Give Me Everything. Rapper Pitbull is rubbing all over his dancers. Ne-Yo's dancers are all over him, but he is too busy trying to sing, which he does well, for the most part.



Before the break, Beverly and Dia are asked about the tour, and Dia wants to sing more Tom Petty, and Beverly wants to give us Etta James. And after the break, it is time for Beverly & Christina to duet, and they will sing Beautiful, Christina's hit.



In the rehearsals, the guitar is played by writer Linda Perry. They are going to do a very sweet acoustic version, which is nice. Ms. Perry is on stage with them. I think some of the beauty of the song is lost by the dueling voices.

After a break, we have Dia Frampton singing the original song Inventing Shadows. It certainly has the flavor of an Adele song, which is a wonderful thing. She is a bit tethered to the piano, playing and singing. It is a lovely performance, I am quite surprised. To vote for Dia, dial (855) 864-2303.

Adam and Javier get their chance to duet, and they will on a Michael Jackson song. They will be singing Man In The Mirror. It starts off a bit weak, with Adam hitting the notes, but rather demurely. It is surprising how little stage presence and charisma in on the stage for the first half of the song. Javier kind of picks it up, and Adam seems content with being his back up singer.



Brad Paisley comes out to perform his latest single, Don't Drink The Water, featuring coach Blake. Paisley comes out and is doing a great job, and is soon joined on stage by Blake, coming out of his revolving chair and seemingly towering over Paisley. To be fair, he towers over most of the world. Blake seems a tad lost up there with on instrument to play. But they do a great job, even if it is becoming the Blake Shelton Musical Show.



The final competitor for the night is Beverly, representing Team Xtina. She performs Lovesick, and all I can say is I bet they would be better in the studio, because it just falls flat, and even Beverly flailing on the piano couldn't save it. The judges are all kind, and concentrate how much they love her. To vote for Beverly, dial (855) 864-2304.

Vicci and Cee Lo are the last to duet, and they pick Love Is A Battlefield by the amazing Pat Benatar. And as I suspected, Cee Lo is pulling out the stops, and has kids dancing, live fire on the stage, and big bold costumes. Vicci sounds wonderful on it, and Cee Lo looks great. That, my friends, is a way to close the show.



A great show, but truly throws me off. I thought Vicci shined, but the song was just mediocre. Blake gave Dia the best song of the group, so I just don't know what to think. I look forward to seeing who America voted for Wednesday night at 8PM/7PM Central on NBC.

The Voice Finals Preview

L to R: Vicci Martinez, Beverly McClellan, Javier Colon, and Dia Frampton.

The Voice is getting ready for the final competition and vote for the first season of the show, with performances starting tonight at 9PM/8PM Central time, and going for 2 hours. We will hear the four finalists perform an original song, and also duet with their coach. To prepare you, I thought I would remind everyone of the finalists, starting with my favorite, Vicci Martinez. Last week, she had, in my opinion, the strongest song of the night when she played the drums and sang Dog Days Are Over, the song of Florence + the Machine. She began a bit nervous, I thought, but quickly regrouped and took command of the stage.



My second favorite of the evening was a truly magical one. When I heard Beverly McClellan was going to sing BB King's The Thrill Is Gone, I was afraid. I haven't been a big Beverly fan this season - thought she at times missed the emotion of the song and used her own exuberance in its place. But on this one, she was right on with it all. So wonderful.



Next up was someone I felt had such potential during the auditions, and has fallen short for me since. Javier Colon was all charm with his smooth rendition of Cyndi Lauper's (and Rob Hyman of The Hooters) Time After Time. But his version of Coldplay's Fix You was far from that, as it was more rock than soul, yet lacking in bravado and emotion. Hopefully tonight he can go back to what worked so well at the beginning.



The final contestant baffles me a bit. Although I do think she has an awkward, quirky charm. However, when it comes time for her performances, she tends to just barely miss the mark, with phrasing that feels forced, or at least not organic. But you can check it out for yourself, and watch Dia Frampton perform REM's Losing My Religion.



Don't forget to tune in tonight to watch the performances and be prepared to vote for your favorite. The inaugural winner of The Voice will be crowned Wednesday night between 8 & 9PM, more than likely at around 8:50PM.

Finalists Announced for The Voice

Top: Nakia, Frenchie Davis, Casey Weston & Xenia. Bottom: Vicci Martinez, Beverly McClellan, Javier Colon & Dia Frampton.

Tonight we have the first elimination episode for The Voice, an episode completely devoted to sending some contestants home, and selling commercial advertising time. Last night, I thought the contestants making it through to the finals would be Vicci Martinez, Beverly McClellan, Xenia and Javier Colon. I will stick by that, but have less faith in it now that I have had time to think it through. Honestly, it is a toss up between Xenia and Dia Frampton, and you never know who the American voters will be voting for, as American Idol has shown us on repeated occasions. Last night was a very good show, I will say that. There was no clunker of a performance, no real melt-down. In fact, several people stepped up their game.

After a speech by the President of the United States, we had Carson introducing the contestants, all eight who made it into the Top 100 on iTunes last night. They then came out to sing a mash of of two of George Michael's wonderful songs, Faith and Freedom '90.





The first team to announce which member will be in the finals is Team CeeLo. Will it be powerhouse Vicci that will represent the team, or will it be bluesy Nakia? Tehy start out with a sweet moment between Nakia and his boyfriend. There is also a moment for Vicci to talk about her late father. Cee Lo even wrote a poem for his team. He diided his points 52-49 for Nakia. With America's score added in, Vicci will be moving on, and Nakia will be going home. She scored big with America, to be sure. She had an amazing performance last night. When we return from a commercial break, Cee Lo has no time to rest, as he is performing his latest single, Bright Lights Bigger City.



The song was great fun, the wig he was wearing, well, maybe a bit less fun. First we learn that Gym Class Heroes were rehearsing nearby, and so Adam sang their song together, Stereo Hearts, just to show off a bit for his team. Then we are back to find out if it will be frontrunner Javier, or will sweet Casey pull another upset. Once again, Carson tries to drain every last tear out of the situation, when speaking to Casey and Javier. Adam's scores are 65-35 for Javier, and explains he needs to give Javier the chance because of his age. Rather bold of Adam, I must say. But it makes it obvious, and Javier takes America's vote as well. Here is Adam's song with Gym Class Heroes.



Next up Blake takes Dia and Xenia with him on the road, and they perform on Honey Bee with him. He introduces them to Brad Paisley, and gave them each a guitar. But soon they are back, and they are on stage to talk about the experience. Both are grateful to Blake, they just love him. Blake divided up his points 50-50. He loves them both. It is up to America. When we come back from the break, we learn that Dia wins by just 12 points.

Finally, it is tome for Team Christina. Will bold Beverly once again capture the vote, or will Frenchie prove to be as powerful as her vocals. Last night, Christina divided her points up 50-50, dead even. She is leaving it in America's hands. After yet another break, we find out Beverly is going to represent Team Christina. The final four are on stage, and are joined by the coaches. Next week, they will compete for the win.